VIDEO: Former Mill Creek Hotshot, Among 19 Killed in Arizona, Returns Home

The remains of Chris MacKenzie, former Mill Creek Hotshot, member of the Tahquitz Type II crew in the San Jacinto Mountains, Hemet native, and one of 19 firefighters killed June 30 in Arizona, were returned home Wednesday.

Crew of a National Guard C-130 flew the caskets of MacKenzie and another member of the Granite Mountain Hotshots from Prescott to Los Alamitos. A procession led by the California Highway Patrol escorted MacKenzie's hearse on a route that passed through south Riverside on its way to Miller Jones Mortuary in Hemet.

People who waited along Van Buren Boulevard west of Riverside National Cemetery to pay respects included Marie Hyta, 59, and her mother Katherine Ward, 86, both of Moreno Valley.

"My late husband, Robert J. Ward, was a volunteer fireman in Addison, Illinois, and all firefighters are in our hearts constantly," Ward said.

"We're here to honor this gentleman who gave his life in that fire in Arizona, and is making his way to Hemet, so he knows people care."

Further west on Van Buren at Plummer Road, Cal Fire Capt. Mark Gilman, office tech Dawn Ammons, and others from the Cal Fire Training Bureau at Clark Training Center came out to pay their respects.

MacKenzie's father, retired Cal Fire Capt. Mike MacKenzie, used to work at the Training Bureau, Ammons said.

The funeral service for MacKenzie, who was 30 years old when he died, is scheduled at 6 p.m. Saturday at Ramona Bowl Amphitheater in Hemet.

MacKenzie was a graduate of Hemet High School. Agencies he worked for included the U.S. Forest Service in San Bernardino, the Bureau of Land Management, and the California Desert District.

MacKenzie and another member of the Granite Mountain Hotshots who was killed last week in the Yarnell Hill Fire had roots in Hemet. Billy Warneke, 25, also graduated from Hemet High School. He was buried Wednesday July 10 in Marana, Arizona.

At least four other Granite Mountain Hotshots had ties to Southern California.

The remains of Kevin Woyjeck, 21, of Seal Beach, were flown July 10 on the same C-130 that brought MacKenzie's casket to to Los Alamitos.

Other firefighters killed in the Yarnell Hill Fire with SoCal ties include Grant McKee, 21, who grew up in Costa Mesa and attended Newport Harbor High, Sean Misner, 26, of Santa Ynez in Santa Barbara County, and Andrew Ashcraft, 29, who was born in Orange.

To read more about MacKenzie and other Granite Mountain Hotshots, start at this Arizona Republic link: Yarnell Hill Fire Fallen Remembered: Christopher MacKenzie.